Fate Be Changed
by MajesticWoodlandNelf
Summary: Post BOTFA AU: Fili and Kili explore the caverns underneath Erebor when they discover something that sends them back through time. Now they are faced with a decision that could possibly save someone's life or tear apart their world as they know it. Will they truly chance playing with fate?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or any of Tolkien's work.**

Chapter 1

Erebor.

Vast halls of carven stone that appeared almost jade in color when viewed in the right light. Smaug's desolation had left it nearly in shambles that would take months, if not years to rebuild. Though for all it's destruction there was still beauty here.

Piles overflowing with glittering gold were literally everywhere. One had to take care where they stepped or they might end up tumbling down one of the piles.

Fili could remember the first time he laid eyes on such a treasure. Bilbo had been trying to warn them away but he hadn't been listening, he was far too distracted by the gleam he had caught out of the corner of his eyes. It was so bright he would have swore that the very sun had been taken from the sky and tucked into those halls.

But the brilliance of the gold had seemed to loose it's ardor rather quickly as he watched his uncle's descent into madness.

That was three months ago. Three whole months since they reclaimed the mountain and fought to defend it from the army of goblins and orcs that threatened to annihilate them.

Three months since he stood on the battlefield and watched as Azog the defiler attempted to slaughter his family. He had almost lost them that day and the days following the battle had offered him no peace either as he lay in bed, stricken with fever from an orc arrow to his shoulder, not knowing if his brother or uncle was alive or dead.

Fili scrubbed his hands over his face but it did nothing to dispel the morbid thoughts from his mind. Well at least it was the day for such thoughts, for today was the anniversary of his father's death.

Even the memories of the battle could not wash away that day from his mind though Fili wasn't sure he wanted to forget. Did he envy Kili's carefree indifference to this day? Of course he did but the difference between them is Kili had never known their father who died shortly before he was born while Fili had five years with him.

But despite the pain that he felt year after year on the anniversary of his passing Fili would not forget him. How could he?

This would be the first year he would not have his mother by his side to shoulder the burden. Lady Dis still remained in Ered Luin, deciding to wait until the spring thaw to make her journey to the lonely mountain. Fili could see the logic in that decision but that didn't make him miss her any less.

"Hurry up Fili," Kili's excited voice broke him from his reverie.

Fili had pretended to not know what Kili was doing when he bounced him out of bed at the crack of dawn with plans to explore the lower levels.

Thorin had given him the day off from his duties as crown prince and Kili had taken it upon himself to provide a distraction so Fili didn't spend the whole day in his chambers wallowing. He couldn't say he wasn't grateful for Kili's interference.

Fili jogged to catch up with his little brother who was doing his best to make it look as if he had been waiting for him for years instead of only a few seconds.

"Took you long enough," Kili said with a smile. "One would think you were the one with the leg wound with the way you were lagging behind." Fili spared a glance at his brother's right leg, where the orc arrow had pierced it during their escape from Mirkwood.

His dark thoughts threatened to overwhelm him again before Kili grabbed his tunic and started to drag him along behind him.

"Well come on then we haven't got all day."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Fili said, swatting Kili's hand from his shirt. With a small smile, Fili jabbed Kili lightly on the arm. "Race you."

* * *

It was mid-day before they stopped to take a break and eat the packed lunch that Kili had Bombur prepare for them. Fili was finishing off the last of his sandwich while Kili absentmindedly played with a pair of matching sapphires he had managed to pick up.

"These are almost the same color as uncle's eyes," Kili said, holding them up to his own eyes.

The magnification made them look twice the size they normally were and Fili couldn't help but laugh. Kili joined them and soon both boys were rolling around the floor in a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

"Thank you," Fili said when he got his breath back. "I really needed this today." Kili shrugged as he placed the sapphires back into his bag.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Fili simply shook his head.

"We better be getting back before uncle sends out a search party for us." Fili started back towards the path that brought them down here when he realized Kili wasn't following him. Rolling his eyes, Fili turned back to search for his wayward brother.

"Now how's the one who can't keep up?" Stepping back into the clearing where they had stopped Fili noticed the Kili had moved but in the opposite direction and seemed to be staring intently at a hole in the wall.

"I think you'll find the exit is this way, little brother."

"There is something in here," Kili said before shoving his arm, shoulder deep into the crevice.

"Hopefully it's not something that's going to eat your arm off," Fili said. "I'd hate to see how you're going to practice archery that way."

Kili rolled his eyes and focused on his task. With a few grunts and several hard tugs he managed to wrench his prize free. Fili's eyes widened when he held up a blood red ruby the size of an orange.

"Mahal's beard, Kili." Kili held up the ruby with a triumphant smile.

"Now aren't you glad I noticed it." He tossed it into the air and caught it with the opposite hand.

"Yes, you're so impressive. Come on." It was Fili's turn to drag his brother by his shirt towards the exit.

"Fili look!" Kili exclaimed, stopping them in their tracks. The ruby sat in his outstretched palms and it seemed to be...glowing?

A small orange light, almost like a spark seemed to pulsate from the center, growing bigger and bigger by the second. Heat began to radiate off of the sphere til it became as hot as a forge. Kili screamed as it burned his hand but didn't let it go.

"Kili, drop it!" Fili ordered, panic evident in his voice.

"I'm trying." Kili shook his hand in an attempt to to rid himself of the gem but it didn't move, almost if it had melted into his flesh.

Fili tried to pry it away with his own hands, ignoring how it scorched his skin. Without warning the ground started to shake almost knocking them off their feet.

"What's happening?" Kili yelled. Rocks began to tumble from the ceiling, falling down towards them.

Fili threw himself over top of his brother moments before they were buried.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fili groaned and rubbed at his head, his arms and legs feeling like jelly. It reminded him of the time he and Kili and snuck into the cellar of Bombur's tavern in the Blue Mountains and helped themselves to some of the ale, drinking themselves into a stupor.

They had both been sick for a week and spent the next few months working off the indiscretion. Funny, Fili doesn't remember drinking the night before, the last thing he remember was exploring with Kili and...Oh Mahal.

"Kili!" he exclaimed, sitting up a little too fast. His head spun and he groaned, nausea churning in his stomach. He was not going to be sick, he had to help Kili. Prying his eyes open one at a time he looked around for his little brother.

Kili lay curled up on a patch or green that looked like grass. Where had the grass come from, they were deep in the mountain? The ruby sat harmlessly beside him and Fili thought briefly about kicking it far away when Kili groaned. Fili was instantly at his side.

"Kili?" He shook his shoulder slightly. "Kili, can you hear me?" Kili blinked his eyes open.

"Fili? What happened?" Fili shook his head. "I don't know but we better get you to Oin, your hand was burned pretty bad." Fili gently grasped Kili's hand and looked it over to assess the damage. He was shocked to fine that it was perfectly fine.

"What...I don't understand?" He grabbed Kili's other hand to be sure he was looking at the right one and found it to be much the same.

"Come on," Fili said pulling Kili to his feet.

"We need to get home." Kili's head swiveled around them.

"Where are we?" For the first time Fili noticed they were in a forest of some kind and not in the mountain. Well that would explain the grass, he thought. But how they got out of the mountain was an even bigger mystery.

Ripping a piece from his tunic, Kili bent down and wrapped the ruby in the cloth and stuffed it into his pack.

"After everything that just happened you're going to keep that?" Kili shrugged.

"I thought Balin could take a look at it and tell us what it is." Fili threw his hands in the air but let the matter rest. There was little anyone could do to change Kili's mind once it's been made up.

Not knowing where they were made it difficult to pick a direction to follow. They didn't know if they were headed towards help or away from it but Fili couldn't find any landmarks that could help them decide so they just headed south and hoped for the best.

"You know," Kili said. "This place almost reminds me of the Blue Mountains." Fili rolled his eyes.

"I doubt we're in the Blue Mountains, Kili."

"Well why not," Kili argued. "We're obviously no where near Erebor. Maybe that ruby was some sort of transportation stone."

"A transportation stone?" Fili said incredulously. "There's no such thing."

"That you know of. Ori's probably read about dozens of them."

"Right. Your imagination knows no bounds."

"We'll see if you're still saying that when I'm proven right."

They continued in relative silence though every so often Kili would point out something that he swore he saw before as a child. Fili did think a few of the swimming holes and boulders did look kinda familiar but he still wasn't convinced they had been transported back to Ered Luin. The very idea was preposterous.

And even if they were they had bigger problems to contend with. Night was rapidly approaching and though Fili had no problem with sleeping under the stars- they had done it for months on their journey to Erebor and on several camping trips with Thorin when they were young- they simply did not have the supplies necessary for camping, even Kili would find it foolish to try it under these circumstances. No, they would have to find shelter and fast.

"Do you think Ma will be happy to see us?" Kili asked. Fili sighed. He still hasn't given up on the idea they somehow made it back to Ered Luin.

"I'm sure she will be."

"I wonder if she'll make us a pie. If there is one thing I miss the most about home is Ma's pies. Oh, especially those apple pies she makes in the fall."

Kili continued to reminisce about the time they had gone collecting apples for their mother.

"And then you had to fall an break your arm." he gave Fili an accusing glare.

"I was only in that tree because you decided to get yourself stuck. There were plenty of apples on the ground you didn't have to climb to the top of the tree to pick them."

"Everyone knows the best apples grow at the top," Kili argued.

"Yeah but not everyone is dumb enough to get themselves stuck." Fili didn't have to turn around to know that Kili was sticking his tongue out at him like a dwarfling. "Your face is going to freeze like that."

"You sound like Ma."

"She'll be happy to hear that."

The crunching of leaves and sticks under their feet was the only sound to be heard for several minutes. Fili eyed the rapidly falling sun with worry. They hadn't even come close to finding anything that resembled civilization and he had almost resigned himself to a very uncomfortable night under the stars.

"How far do you think we've walked?" Kili asked.

"Not far enough," Fili grumbled in reply.

"Now you sound like uncle." Fili opened his mouth to launch a scathing retort when a sharp crack off in the shadows caught their attention.

"Do you think it was a deer?" Kili whispered. A deer or small woodland creature would be the logical assumption but ever instinct told Fili it was something far worse.

His fingers itched to wrap around the hilts of his duel swords just as he knew Kili longed for his bow but both their weapons we tucked away in their chambers where they had left them that morning.

Without weapons and without options, Fili decided their best course of action would be to hide. Yanking hard on Kili's arm, he sent them tumbling down a nearby ravine. They slid to a halt in a tangle of limbs, dried leaves and twigs clinging to their clothing.

"Good work, genius," Kili muttered. His words quickly turned in nothing more than muffled noise as Fili clamped a hand over his mouth. The harsh cackle of black speech filled the air.

"Orcs," Fili mouthed, taking his hand away from Kili's face.

Kili's face blanched as he tried to press himself closer into the earth. Fili knew the resent battle was playing in Kili's mind as it was in his own. Even then they were armed and surrounded by their kin who would protect them but here they were alone and unarmed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the orcs moved on. Fili breathed a sigh of relief. Inky blackness now cloaked the sky like a blanket, shrouding them in darkness.

Kili quickly scrambled up the ravine while Fili took a moment to brush himself off. Kili had often teased him for 'preening like a peacock' as he put it but it was a habit that was drilled into him by both his mother and uncle from a young age. As second son, Kili might be able to get away with keeping his hair looking like something birds would nest in but as heir to the throne, Fili was awarded no such luxury.

After discarding the last leaf, Fili started the long treck back up the hill. He had made it about half way up when a familiar scream froze his blood in his veins.

"Fili!" Fili flew the rest of the way to the top faster than he thought possible. Kili was struggling against the grasp of an orc who had placed a blade under his chin.

"Let him go," Fili demanded, hoping the orc didn't notice the way his voice shook.

"Oi," the orc said in common tongue as he look to him with surprise. "There be two of 'em." Fili suddenly realized that the orc was not talking to him but instead to someone behind him.

He spun around in time to deflect the second orc that had charged him but without weapons he couldn't do much more than that. He franticly searched around for anything that would be useful to him.

Spotting a sturdy looking branch, Fili dove for it, his finger barely touching it before the orc was on him once again. He swung the branch, smiling when he felt it connect with the orcs stomach. He went to bring it down again but this time the orc was ready for him and ripped it from his hands.

Fili had no time to dwell on the stinging of his palms before the orc brought his foot down on his chest, effectively pinning him to the ground.

"Stop," Kili yelled, but they paid him no mind.

"We're gonna eat well tonight," said the orc who held Kili. He poked his finger none to gently into Kili's ribs.

"Yes, nice and squishy."

"Oi," Kili yelled and tried to squirm away.

"Hardly any beard too. I think mine's a girl."

"I'm not a girl," Kili shouted indignantly. He twisted and squirmed so much that Fili was afraid he cut his own throat on the blade.

"Let go of me you foul breathed, shovel faced, halfwit."

"Shovel faced? Who you calling shovel faced?" Fili rolled his eyes. Just once it would be nice if Kili didn't insult the monsters that were trying to kill them.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately."

"Why you little..." He got no further as Kili plunged a tiny dagger into the orcs thigh. The orc roared in pain but released his hold on Kili.

Fili used the distraction to launch his own offence. His hands grasping a rock he brought it down hard on the orc's knee, hearing a satisfying crunch. In an instant he was on his feet, standing back to back with Kili. The familiar fighting position boosted Fili's confidence. Together he and Kili were a force to be reckoned with.

They moved in sync, each one covering the others weakest points. Kili armed with his stiletto blade and Fili with the branch he had stolen from him earlier.

Together they managed to keep the orcs at arms length but that was all they could do. Their impromptu weapons simply weren't lethal enough to kill the beasts.

A low howl in the sounded in the distance. Fili looked to Kili who wore the same wide eyed expression. The orcs grinned a sickly grin as they stared down their prey.

Fili thought briefly about telling Kili to run but he knew they wouldn't get very far. He could already hear the running footsteps of the warg. Moments later it burst through the trees, barreling straight for Fili.

Fili raised his club and prepared for the attack but before the warg reached him he was jerked out of the way and crashed to the ground. Glancing up Fili watched in horror as the warg slammed into Kili who stood where Fili had been standing moments ago.

He heard more than saw his little brother hit the ground as the warg launched him out of Fili's line of sight. "Kili!"

The orcs decended on him with renewed vigor, making it impossible to come to his brother's aid.

Kili had reacted on instinct when he pushed his brother out of the warg's path but once again he failed to think things through and now he was paying the price.

The warg's weight nearly crushed him as he fought to keep it's snapping jaws as far away from his face as possible. He had lost his dagger some time after the warg slammed into him and now could only use his flailing arms to keep the warg back. He was tiring quickly and a single, unarmed dwarf was no match for a blood thirsty and hungry warg.

Kili managed to plant his foot against the beast's sternum and he pushed off with all his might. The warg stumbled back a mere foot but it was enough that Kili could slip out from under it. He needed a weapon; something, anything. He groped blindly across the ground, his fingers brushing only dried leaves and loose pebbles.

The warg geared up for another attack, launching itself at the helpless dwarf. Kili raised his arms to protect his head.

"Fili!"

The impact never came; instead Kili heard a loud thud as the wargs body hit the ground. He peaked open first one eye and then the other. The warg lay dead at his feet, a flash of golden hair could be seen behind it. Fili, thank Mahal.

Kili opened his mouth to thank him but stopped short when he caught full sight of his rescuer. He wasn't surprised he mistook the stranger for his brother at first. With the same golden mane of hair that was braided near identical, the two of them could be twins.

The resemblance was striking enough that Kili thought he was seeing double as Fili rushed to his side and pulled him in a fierce hug. The hug only lasted a moment before Fili pulled back and proceeded to punch him in the arm.

"You stupid, reckless dwarfling. Don't you ever do that to me again." Kili rubbed at his now throbbing arm.

"What, save your life?"

Fili gave him _the look_. It was a look that was usually worn by Thorin whenever his wayward nephews- mostly Kili- had done something incredibaly stupid. Though somehow it didn't look nearly as terrifying on Fili.

The gruff sound of someone clearing their throat brought the boys back to the present and for the first time Fili seemed to realize they were not alone.

"I hate to break up this family discussion but there may be more of them coming. We should probably leave before they arrive."

The stranger motioned for them to follow him as he left to join his companions. Kili scrambled to his feet and held out a hand to help Fili up only his brother didn't seem to see him. Fili's eyes remained fixed on the strange dwarf that had saved Kili's life and Kili noticed his face had gone white as a sheet.

Kili was about to ask him if he was alright when a single syllable word slipped from Fili's lips.

"Da?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A peat fire popped and crackled in the hearth of a stone fireplace giving off a pleasant warmth that Kili couldn't help but lean into. Thick woolen blankets had been tossed over both his and Fili's shoulders by an elderly dwarrow-dame.

Kili spared a glance at his brother. Fili's eyes never wavered from the fire in front of him but he had managed to bring a little color back into his face.

Kili had seen this behavior before in the weeks after the battle. Fili would get this blank expression on his face as he stared off into the distance.

He hadn't said a word since they left the woods and were shuffled into the dwarven settlement. Which was Ered Luin by the way, Kili thought proudly. But he had no time to relish in his triumph.

Fili's doppelganger had lead them to Bombur's tavern and plopped them down in front of the fire before setting off again. Leaving Kili with a mountain of question that he wasn't sure he would find answers too. First and foremost being why had Fili called the blond dwarf Da?

Kili had never known their father, he had died in an orc attack shortly before he was born. So why would Fili have gotten so worked up over a stranger? Perhaps the dwarf could be a relative of their late father? They hadn't really known that side of the family so it was a possibility and no one could argue the striking resemblance to Fili.

Kili had turned to his brother to explain his theory when the door swung open and the blonde dwarf walked in followed closely behind by Thorin Oakenshield.

Kili's eyes widened at the sight. That was impossible. Thorin was in Erebor; he had been nowhere near them when they had found the stone so how was it possible that he was here now?

As Thorin made his way closer to them Kili noticed something off about his uncle. He looked...young. Far younger than Kili had ever seen him. His face seemed softer and no gray had found it's way into his dark black hair.

The two of them pulled up a stool and sat down in front of the fire. Kili could only continue to stare at his uncle with slack jaw. Fili had managed to rouse himself enough to join them but the little color he had in his cheeks had gone again leaving him frightfully pale.

The blonde dwarf mistook Kili's confusion for fear.

"We aren't going to harm you," he said softly. "Vili of Ered Luin, at your service," he nodded his head in a small bow. Kili let out an involuntary squeak of surprise in response.

Vili, his father. It was impossible. He was dead, he died seventy-seven years ago. He was not sitting here in front of them.

Unless...Oh Mahal what have they done? Kili's breath came in sharp hard pants as he thought back to the stone he carried in his pack. He thought it was used for transportation and he guessed in a way it was, transportation through time.

Kili swayed on his stool and Vili reached out a hand to steady him.

"Hey, easy now. Deep breaths. Can we get some water?" The last part was shouted to someone behind the bar who quickly worked to do as they were asked. A moment later a cup of cool water had been placed to Kili's lips and he drank eagarly.

"I imagine you've had a bit of a fright tonight." Yeah you could say that again. "Two orcs and a warg are a lot for anyone to take on unarmed. Though you did surprisingly well given your age."

Kili blinked. He had almost forgotten about the scuffle with the orcs. Was that what Vili thought they were reacting to? Well it would be easier to go along with that explanation than to try and explain what was really the matter.

"What are your names?" Thorin asked, speaking for the first time since he arrived.

Kili floundered. He hadn't thought about alias' and he certainly couldn't tell then their real names.

"I'm...uh...um...Bain," he said thinking of King Bard of Dale's son. "And this is my brother...uh...Bilbo." That earned him a sharp glare from Fili but he didn't argue.

"Not very dwarfish names," Thorin said, raising an eyebrow. "Where are you from?"

"The Iron Hills," Kili said at the same time Fili blurted out, "Ered Mithrin." Kili cringed.

"The Iron Hills originally," he quickly said, trying to salvage their story before it all fell apart. "But we move around a lot. Go from here to there. We're a bit nomadic."

Thorin nodded slowly and Kili hoped he believed their story. There were only a few times he had even been able to get away with lying to his uncle and he prayed to the gods that this would be one of those times.

"We had come to the Blue Mountains looking for work," he added in. "Only we got lost."

"You traveled all the way from the Grey Mountains without weapons?"

"We sorta lost those too." That's it. They were finished; outed as frauds and would probably be boiled in hot oil or something equally dramatic.

Thankfully Vili stepped in before Thorin could say anything. "You must be tired from your journey. I'll speak with the inn keep and see if you could stay here for the night."

He got up from his stool and dragged Thorin to a corner. They spoke in low tones but Kili had sharp ears and could hear parts of what they were saying.

"I don't trust them," Thorin had said making Kili frown.

How's that for family loyalty for you. Kili had to remind himself that this was not the same Thorin who helped raise them and after the frankly diastrous talk Kili wasn't sure if he had been in Thorin position that he would have trusted him either.

"You don't trust anybody," Vili stated.

"With good reason," Thorin grumbled.

"Perhaps Dis could get them to open up," Vili suggested. Thorin shook his head.

"Don't bring her into this. She already has enough on her plate with raise Fili and having another one on the way. Besides, if they are dangerous I don't want them anywhere near her."

"I doubt they are dangerous Thorin, they are just boys, barely older than dwarflings by the look of it."

"That's plenty old enough." Vili crossed his arms.

"Now don't you start getting broody with me Thorin Oakenshield or I'll have Dis whack you with her rolling pin." Kili covered his mouth to muffle his snort of laughter, hoping they didn't hear it.

"These orcs concern me, Vili. They are growing bolder and getting too close to the settlement."

"We'll be fine, Thorin. I know you won't let anything happen to our people. Now come on, let's get these boys settled in for the night. I want to be home in time to tuck Fili in."

They made their way back to the fireplace and Kili quickly averted his attention to his cup of water.

"The inn keep is preparing a room for you. You will have to share but there are two beds."

Kili nodded and patted down his pockets for his coin purse only to remember he had left it in his room that morning. He doubted Fili would have brought his either seeing as neither of them thought they would need it.

A sudden idea popped into his head and he dug around in his pack, pulling out one of the twin sapphires he found earlier.

"Will this cover the cost?"

* * *

A single lantern burned on the nightstand between them as Fili and Kili readied themselves for bed. The thin mattresses weren't nearly as soft as their beds back in Erebor but if was better than sleeping on the cold, hard ground.

"Paying for the room with a sapphire probably wasn't the best way to remain inconspicuous, Kili." Kili shrugged his shoulders as he remember the way Vili and Thorin's eyes bugged out of their head when they caught sight or the jewel.

"It was all I had. Besides we can get plenty more when we get home."

"If we get home," Fili corrected. "What if we're stuck here?"

"Then there will be two of each of us running around. Imagine the mischief we could get up to then." Fili bopped him with his pillow.

"This is serious, Kili."

Kili nodded his expression growing solemn. They had to get home. They didn't belong in this world, not any longer. They were princes of Erebor and while that didn't really hold any weight with Kili he did miss his uncle and his friends.

His thoughts turned to his father. So many times he had wondered what he was like, so many questions he had wanted to ask and now he could. Except he didn't think he wanted to.

He knew what was coming; the orc attack that would end his life. He knew of the heartbreak his mother and brother endured because of it. He watched them year after year. Did he really want to be apart of that? Was the little time he had with his father really worth the suffering his lose would bring? Kili really didn't know the answer to that.

They say that ignorance is bliss and Kili is starting to believe they're right.

Kili rolled over in his bed to stare at Fili. As hard as this was for Kili, he couldn't imagine what Fili was going through. You never think you will ever have the chance to be with someone again after they are gone. You can spend your whole life wishing for one more day with those you love and now Fili has that opportunity.

But is it a blessing or a curse because all too soon that one day will end and you will be left with a bigger hole in your heart than what you started with.

Kili sighed and burrowed down into his blankets. He had no doubt that the coming days would be hard and heartbreaking, it would be best to get some sleep while he could. Reaching up he turned down the lantern, plunging the room into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Fili awoke just as the first rays of dawn began to stretch across the sky. He used the term 'awoke' loosely for it implied he got any sleep to begin with.

He had tossed and turned into the wee hours of the morning, his mind replaying the nights events over and over again.

After all the years of wishing he could see his father again and tell him how much he loved him, he never believe that wish would come true. Not at least until his joined him in the halls of Mandos.

When he saw him the day before, Fili was certain he had died. Maybe that rock fall had killed him and Kili and they just hadn't realized it yet. But it hardly made sense that there would be orc scum and wargs in the halls of their fathers.

It wasn't until he saw Thorin that he realized what had happened, he knew Kili realized it too by the look on his face and the fact that his normally chatty brother was rendered speechless.

Of all the jewels they could have found buried beneath Erebor they had to find a time travel stone.

He figured it could have been worse. They could have been transported back to the fall of Erebor only to be obliterated by dragon fire, so he guessed they were lucky in that aspect. Though that didn't leave them with any easier a decision.

Fili hadn't the slightest clue on how to get home. He supposed it was a good thing Kili had kept the stone and he hadn't of tossed it in a lake like he wanted to but that didn't mean he knew how it worked.

So they were stuck for the time being. Fili decided that being here was like teetering on a thin line between heaven and hell. On one hand his father was alive and he thanked every god he knew of for the chance to see him again. But at the same time, he had no idea who he was.

Vili already had his son, his Fili. A five year old little dwarfling not an eighty-two year old adult. There was no way he could tell him without sounding completely mad.

And then there was the other matter to deal with. Vili was fated to die by an orc blade very soon. Fili couldn't watch that happen. It was hard enough knowing it was coming.

A thought sparked in his mind and Fili knew he he should squash it before it breed new life but he couldn't bring himself to. There had to be a reason they were brought back to this specific time rather than any other and Fili had an idea on why that might be.

It was madness he knew it but it was also perfect. A solution to all his problems. He was going to stop Vili from dying.

He and Kili would grow up with their father. Fili almost cried at the thought. He was sure he could convince Kili to help him, after all Kili would be given the chance to get to know that man who sired him.

The weight on his heart lifted and was replaced instead with a new determination. He wanted to wake Kili and rush off to find the orc who would dare to hurt his father but he knew he had to take things slow. If they would even have a chance at succeeding they would need a plan and weapons, definitely weapon.

Fili snatched up Kili's pack and grabbed the other sapphire. It should more than cover the cost of new swords and a bow for Kili. They might not be as comfortable as their own weapons but they will serve them well.

Leaving Kili to sleep, Fili set out into the early morning air to put his plan into motion.

* * *

Kili was sitting in the dinning hall eating a lumpy bowl of porridge when Fili returned hours later with his arms full of wrapped packages.

Kili smiled when he saw him and pulled out a chair which Fili dropped into gratefully. He deposited the bundles on the table with a loud clang.

"Where did you get off to so early?" Kili asked, his mouth half full.

Fili shook his head; if their mother saw the state of her youngest's table manners she would cuff them both around the ears, Kili for being such a pig and Fili for letting him get that way. Grabbing a long bundle, Fili dropped it in Kili's lap.

"Aw, for me? Brother you shouldn't have." He tore off the paper and pulled out a new bow, complete with arrows and a quiver.

Fili unwrapped his own bundle and strapped the dual swords to his waist. It was the first step in replacing the veritable armory he usually carried but he decided not to waste the money, they just might need it down the road.

"Get a little ansy without an armory at your beck and call?" Kili quipped.

"We'll need it in the coming days."

"Got something planned that I'm not aware of?" Kili shoveled another bite into his mouth.

Fili glanced around him to make sure everyone was out of earshot before leaning in closer to Kili.

"We're going to make sure Da never dies in that orc attack." Kili sputtered, choking on his porridge. Fili reached over and gave him a hard whack on the back.

"What?" Kili exclaimed when he got his breath back. "Fili are you crazy?" Fili stiffened.

"No I'm not. Kili, don't you realize we have a chance to grow up with a father?"

"By changing history."

"Yes!" Couldn't he see what a difference this makes? They would be a family, a whole family.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Fili. What if it goes wrong?"

"How can saving any ones life be wrong? Especially our own father." Why was Kili arguing with him?

"Fili..."

Kili was cut off when the dwarf in question stepped into the tavern and made his way to their table.

"I see you boys got yourselves some arms, that's good. You should never go anywhere without them." He fingered the feathers on Kili's arrows. "A bow is kind of an odd choice for a dwarf don't you think?"

Fili saw Kili stiffen and he didn't blame him. All his life Kili had to endure endless taunts and teasing because of his choice of weapon. An elvish weapon they had said.

"It's not odd for... Bain," Fili said, remembering to use Kili's alias at the last minute. "He's a master with such a weapon. He can hit a squirrel in the eye from fifty paces."

Kili sheepishly lowered his head at his brother's boasting but Vili looked impressed.

"That's pretty good. You must be invaluable to your family." Kili turned a lovely shade of pink, straight up to his ears and Fili let out a short laugh.

"Well I'll let you boy get back to your breakfast." Vili said, rising from his chair. "I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing this morning." They said their goodbyes and Fili watched as Vili walked to the door.

The light, airy mood that he had brought with him disappeared with his absence and tension clouded over their table once more.

"Fili," Kili said. "We can't."

Fili didn't answer him, he didn't even bother to look at him as he walked up to the bar and ordered his own breakfast. Kili sighed and grabbed a hold of his bow, he needed to clear his head.

* * *

Kili had hoped the small clearing just off the training grounds would still be there, seventy years was a long time after all. As a dwarfling he would often go there to be alone and practice his bow.

He liked the quiet and peacefulness the canopy of trees offered him. In the summer months the leaves acted like a cloak, making it the perfect spot to hide away from his tormenters.

Being a price, especially one in exile didn't mean you were immune to bullies. For some reason Kili was the one they had singled out to harass. It may have been because of his bow or his smaller size, he wasn't really sure.

He had never told his mother or uncle about the abuse he suffered at the hands of the other children but Fili knew. Fili always knew, even when Kili had tried to hide it.

Their bond was closer than that of most brothers. Despite only five years difference Fili had always watched out for Kili, protected him.

Kili didn't want to think it was jealously that prevented him from helping Fili save their father. There were bound to be big consequensise that would come from changing the past; weren;t there?

He wasn't afraid of what kind of wedge their father might drive between them. After all if he had lived, there would have been no need for Fili to grow up as fast as he did and he wouldn't feel the need to watch over his little brother as much.

Kili ran his fingers through his tangled hair. All these confusing thoughts swirling in his mind was starting to make his head hurt. He just wanted to go home where everything made sense and he wasn't seeing ghosts.

Turning the corner that lead to the training grounds Kili walked head first into a surprised Balin.

"Sorry Bal...uh, sir." He was going to slip up one of these times if he wasn't careful. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Where were you off to in such a hurry, laddie?"

"Training grounds," he said with a shrug. "Helps me clear my head."

"Got a lot on your mind then?"

"You have no idea." Balin smiled and patted his shoulder. "Then I'll leave you to it." When Balin was out of sight, Kili pulled an arrow from the quiver and notched it in his bow before slipping through the hidden opening to his clearing.

* * *

Balin son of Fundin joined Thorin and Vili at the forge where they spent most of their days, the encounter with the young dwarf lad not far from his mind. His old eyes must be deceiving him for the lad look almost like...He shook his head, that wasn't possible.

"You're late," Vili said. "We were starting to get worried about you."

"There is no need to worry over me, laddie. I had a slight run in with a young lad is why I'm late."

"Who was this?" Thorin asked. Balin waved a hand.

"A new, dark haired fella, never seen him around before."

"Must have been Bain then," Vili said. "He and his brother just arrived last night. They had a bit of trouble with some orcs."

"He's the spitting image of Frerin," Balin muttered under his breath but they heard him all the same.

"Aye," Thorin said, sadly. "I noticed." Balin patted him on the shoulder.

He could only imagine the shock the young king felt upon seeing his decesed little brother's face on a stranger. For a second he might even think that Mahal was kind enough to send him back but the longer Balin had looked at this new lad the less he saw in common with the fallen prince. His eyes for one were a dark brown, Frerin had blue eyes that were signiture to the line of Durin.

Stll it was a good dream while it lasted. Pushing all thoughts of dwarflings and fallen princes from his mind, Balin begins the days work.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: And we have another chapter. I know I seem a little over enthusiastic with the updates but the story is completed and I just couldn't wait to share it with you all.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Kili's arms felt like jelly by the time he made it back to the inn. He had spent the better part of the day firing arrows into trees as substitute for a real target. His body was exhausted but his mind was still racing.

His heart was screaming at him that Fili was right, that they needed their father but a much more prominent instinct was screaming 'danger.'

This was one time in his life he wasn't willing to be reckless. He wouldn't go charging head first into something he didn't understand. And there were definitely forces here that he couldn't possibly comprehend.

"Where have you been?" Fili asked as soon as Kili stepped through the door to their room.

"Needed to clear my head." Kili dropped his bow at the foot of the bed before flopping face first into the mattress.

"Well now that that's done, we have work to do." Not this again. All he wanted to do now was to sleep.

"Fee..."

"Kili I'm not going to argue with you. We've been given the chance to right a wrong. Why is this so difficult for you to understand? Do you think I would just toss an opportunity like that aside?"

Kili sighed. Sometimes it seemed as if Fili had too much heart and now it was clouding his judgement.

"Fili, try to think about this logically." Kili's attempts to reason with his brother so far had not turned out so well, he didn't know why he thought this would be any different.

"Logic?" Fili laughed. "When have you ever used logic. You have been reckless and foolish your entire life, usually dragging me down with you. Well now it's my turn. I'm doing this with or without your help. I never took you to be a selfish coward."

Kili reared back as if he had been slapped, a look of hurt passing over his face.

"Kili, I didn't mean..." Fili was never able to finish his apology as Kili grabbed his bow and ran from the room.

* * *

Kili kept running, not caring where he was going and completely unaware to the storm that was beginning to stir over the mountains.

Since this journey began, Kili has been bruised, abused and tossed into an impossible situation. He has gone home but it isn't truly his home and was surrounded by his kin who he loved dearly, except they had no idea who he was.

He was living in a world that was topsy turvy but he knew that through all the madness he would be okay because he had Fili by his side. The same could not be said for now.

Kili's foot caught on a tree root and he went tumbling head over heals into the dirt. His shoulder connected hard with the packed ground but the physical pain he felt was nothing compared to the pain Fili's words had wrought.

Maybe he was just a foolish child. He wanted to go home and just pretend this had all been a bad dream. Except, he didn't know how to get home and Fili had no intentions of leaving without accomplishing his task.

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed quickly by a loud crack of thunder that shook the very earth. It suited Kili's mood just perfectly.

"What in Mahal's name are you doing out here with this storm brewing?" Kili almost groaned when Vili's voice reached his ears. He really was in no mood for this right now.

"Your father should have taught you better sense." He seems to be making up for lost opportunities, Kili thought ruefully.

"I had a fight with my brother and I stormed out. I didn't realize how bad the weather had gotten." "What about?"

For a moment, Kili considered telling him the truth. He would think him mad as a hatter and...actually that might not be such a bad idea. He could warn Vili about the threat on his life and leave it up to the older dwarf to watch out for himself. It wasn't exactly changing history and it would give his father a fighting chance.

Before he had the chance to think too much into the idea and possibly talk himself out of it, Kili sprang to his feet, startling the dwarf in front of him.

"Vili, you have to listen to me, this is of the utmost importance. You're life is in danger."

"What?" Vili's hands gripped his swords, Fili's swords, he realized and looked around him as if he expected something to jump out from the shadows and attack.

"Not now," Kili clarified. "But in the coming days." Oh he was making a mess of this.

"Look I just need you to trust me." "Bain, are you feeling alright?" Kili shook his head. "My name isn't truly Bain, it's Kili and I'm..." The sharp blast of a horn, more ominous than any thunder crack split the night, chilling their blood.

Orcs.

* * *

Fili thought it best to let Kili cool down despite ever instinct screaming at him to run after his brother and beg his forgiveness.

He had called his brother a coward. The very memory churned his stomach like sour milk. Kili was anything but a coward. He had proven that time and time again on the quest to restore Erebor, even receiving a poisoned arrow to the leg as he saved the entire company.

Foolish and reckless he may be but Kili was never a coward.

Fili scrubbed his hands over his face as a rather familiar knock beat against his door. Furrowing his brow, he glanced over. Many times during his childhood had he heard that knock and knew of it's varying degrees of severity.

The harsh pounding continued, making Fili cringe. Rising from the bed he swung open the door, unsurprised to find Thorin standing behind it. He knew it was only a matter of time before he received a visit from his uncle and quite frankly after that horrible attempt at a cover story he and Kili concocted the night before he was surprised Thorin had waited this long.

"My king," Fili said respectfully, though the words tasted foreign on his tongue. "Won't you come in?"

"You don't seem to surprised to see me." Thorin said, stepping in the room.

"I had a feeling you might drop by," Fili muttered.

"Could that be because you and your brother are lying to me?" Thorin raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "I want to know who you are and why you're here and this time I want the truth." Fili sighed and knew it was futile to continue with his lie.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Thorin's tone left no room for debate and Fili had to fight the urge to shy away from his uncle's piercing gaze like a dwarfling. Steeling his resolve, he lifted his chin.

"I am Fili son of Vili and Dis, prince of Erebor and heir apparent to the throne." Balin would be proud of the way he delivered his full title, Thorin however seem more angry than anything.

"I told you you wouldn't believe me."

"You stand here and claim to be my nephew, my five year old nephew and you expect me to believe that?"

Fili could see how that would be a little hard to swallow, which is why they had alias' to begin with but it was too late to back down now, he might as well get the rest of it out.

"I am Fili," he stated. "From seventy-seven years in the future."

"The future?"

"Yes. Kili and I, my brother," he clarified. "Were somehow sent back in time." Thorin nodded his head slowly.

"Have you perhaps seen a healer, they might be able to help."

"I'm not crazy, uncle," Fili shouted indignantly.

"Don't call me that." Thorin's eyes darkened. "If you were truly sent back in time then tell me how." Fili grabbed Kili's pack from his side of the room and pulled out the ruby.

"With this," he said, holding it up for Thorin to see. "I don't know how it works. It just got hot and everything started to shake we must have blacked out because the next thing I know we were in a forest far away from where we had been."

Thorin took the stone and turned it over in his hands. It looked like a normal gemstone albeit a very big one.

"Let's say I believe your story, however wild it might be. How do you intend to get back?" Fili shook his head slowly.

"I don't know." He had been so caught up in trying to save his father, he never really stopped to consider that. "I really don't know."

Thorin pushed himself to his feet, gripping the ruby tightly.

"Come with me; we're going to see a friend of mine."

"Balin?" At Thorin's confused stare, Fili shrugged.

"Kili thought he might have an idea on what it was."

"Right." Thorin ushered Fili out the door ahead of him and closed it firmly behind him.

* * *

Balin's huge brown eyes blinked behind his loupe as he studied the giant ruby.

"It seems like an ordinary stone," he said. "You said it started glowing?" Fili nodded.

"From the center; a small light that gradually got bigger and hotter."

"Interesting."

"A fairy story, more like it," Thorin grumbled.

"A fairy story, it may be," Balin agreed. "But that does not make it true."

"Are you saying you believe him?"

"I'm saying that I have heard tell of such an object. Durin the deathless was said to have possessed such a stone which allowed him to pass through time itself. Many believed it was as you said, a fairy story," he held out the ruby for them to see. "But I think this may be the proof it was not." Thorin grumbled and shook his head.

"Did these stories say how to get back?" Fili asked.

"Possibly," Balin shrugged. "But I doubt I could remember." Fili's face fell. "Although I might have a scroll around here that could tell us more."

He veered off down a long hallway but Fili made no move to follow him; he had been through here before and had no desire to get lost among the dusty tomes.

Thorin still glared at him from across the room making Fili squirm in his seat.

"There is something you still aren't telling me." There was a lot Fili was not telling him but he doubted Thorin wanted to know every little detail. How did one go about telling someone that their brother in law was doomed to die?

Fili decided there was no easy way to go about it but maybe if he warned Thorin he could prevent it.

"Three nights from now there will be a surprise attack on the settlement by orcs," Fili began slowly. "And my father will be slain."

Thorin's eyes widened as he processed the information, still deciding on whether he should trust him or not.

"I hope to prevent that."

"I'm afraid that won't be so easy, laddie," Balin said as he popped back out with a dusty book in his arms.

"Time travel is a rather tricky thing, there are rules and dire consequences of you break those rules."

"What did you find out," Thorin asked. Balin laid the book on the table. A hand drawn picture of the very same ruby Kili had found stared back at them.

"The world requires balance and things like time travel tend to shift that balance so the world shifts back."

Fili rubbed his head, he really had no desire for riddles right now, especially when Bilbo wasn't here to translate them for him.

"Meaning?" he asked.

"Meaning that if you try to save Vili's life another will have to be taken in his place. A life for a life. Balance restored."

Fili was certain that if he hadn't been sitting his knees would have given out on him and he would have gone crashing to the floor. Kili was right, what he desired was impossible. He needed to find his brother and apologize.

"How about how to send them home, does it tell you that?" Thorin asked.

"Aye, that it does. That part is rather simple really. All one has to do is hold it and think of the place and time they wish to goes and the stone does the rest. We're you perhaps thinking of your father before this, laddie?"

Fili could only nod his head. Kili probably had been too since he was the one to actually hold the stone.

"Then it's settled." Thorin stated. "You two will be returning home tonight. I can hardly have you running around and mucking up a time line. I can already see your mother will have one hell of a time trying to raise you boys, may Mahal bless her."

The bid goodbye to Balin and went off in search of Kili. Fili knew of all the secret hiding spots he liked to visit when he wanted to be alone so it shouldn't take them too long to find him.

The rain was already starting to come down by the time they made it outside, soaking them to the bone and making the ground squish beneath their boots.

"I'm sorry, uncle. Thorin," he corrected quickly.

"What's done is done," Thorin said sharply. He sighed and allowed his features to soften.

"It wasn't your decision to be sucked back into the past and you can hardly be blamed for things beyond your control."

"I just wanted to save my father." Thorin placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know and in your position I can't say I wouldn't do the same. Let's go find your brother and get you two home."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The orcs came down the mountain in a great wave, heading straight for them. Kili began rapidly firing arrow into the crowd, hoping to even the odds but there were just too many of them and he had too few arrows.

Vili had pulled out his duel swords and passed one of them to Kili as the first orcs descended on them.

Memories of the resent battle at the foot of the lonely mountain flashed in Kili's mind as he slashed and stabbed, black blood splattering his face.

Fili was not here to fight by his side. He was back at the inn, safe but completely oblivious to the peril his brother faced. Kili wavered between the desire to have Fili at his back and the need to keep him safe.

Kili and his father moved in time with each other, maybe not with the same fluidity as with Fili but enough to keep the orcs at bay.

For a second Kili wondered if this is what it would have been like; training with his father. The shrieks of the dying orcs brought him back to the present in time to deflect a blade aimed at his heart. Thorin would have his head if he was killed because he lost focus.

More orcs poured in and Kili felt his arms beginning to tire. He was never able to replenish his strength from his archery session earlier that day and it was starting to show.

A cry of pain behind him caused his attention to shift and he watched as Vili fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding arm. His sword had been knocked away at some point and an orc loomed over him a sick and triumphant smile splitting his face as he raised his sword above the dwarf's head.

Kili watched in horror as his father was about to he slain before his very eyes. Like with the warg, Kili acted on instinct, his feet moving before he was even aware of it. He slammed hard into Vili's body, pushing him to the side.

He only had a moment to register that his father was safe before white hot pain exploded in his chest as the orc's sword was pushed through his ribs. Blood spurted from his mouth, coating his lips as he stared into the dead eyes of his killer.

He was vaguely aware of someone shouting his name as his legs gave out from under him and he fell to the dirt.

* * *

Fili's worry grew more and more with each place they check only to find it void of a certain dark haired archer. He could tell Thorin was beginning to become concerned as well.

This would be no surprise to him if he was at home, Kili's antics growing up were always a source of worry for their uncle, who often joked that Kili was the cause of his gray hair. But this was not the same Thorin they had grown up with and Kili hasn't even been born yet.

And yet Thorin was still here with him, worrying over his youngest nephew.

The storm had reached it's crescendo by now, lashing at the tress and plastering their hair against their faces but even the monstrous claps of thunder could not completely drown out the sounds of the battle.

Both Fili and Thorin had drawn their weapons the instant the sound of clashing swords reached their ears.

The fight was already in full swing by the time they reached it. Hordes of orcs seemed to circle around two smaller figures. Fili paled when he realized one of them was Kili.

Without thought to his own safety, Fili threw himself into the fray with Thorin close behind. Guilt threatened to choke him when he realized it was all his fault Kili was in this mess to begin with. It was Fili's words that had driven him out into the storm and straight into a pack of orcs.

A scream cut through him like a knife. His head whipped around to see Vili on his knees. No, this wasn't right, he wasn't supposed to die for another three day, he couldn't possibly be killed tonight.

Fili's eyes fixed on the macabre scene in front of him, not even daring to blink. As the orc raised his blade Fili's breath caught in his throat, threatening to choke him. He had been prepared to watch his father die in the battle but he was not prepared to see Kili shove him out of the way seconds before the orc's blade pierced his body.

 _"Kili!"_ Fili's breath escaped him in one horror stricken scream.

Fili's feet flew over the body covered ground in a desperate attempt to reach his fallen brother. Thorin, who had beheaded the orc who had dared to harm his kin, now knelt beside Kili, cradling his head.

Fili threw himself down beside his brother, his knees sliding on the slick mud. Kili gasped for breath, choking on the blood that now filled his mouth.

"Oh, Mahal, Kili." Fili's hands shook as the ghosted over Kili's prone form, hardly daring to touch him for fear of causing him more pain.

"Fee..." Kili choked out. "Fili."

"I'm here, brother. Don't try to talk, you need to conserve your strength."

"We need to stop the bleeding. Put pressure on the wound," Thorin instructed Vili who did as he was told.

Kili groaned in agony, trying to pull away from the hands that were trying to help him. His breaths were coming in short, gargled pants.

"I'm sorry," Kili managed before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limp. Thorin placed two fingers at his neck and sighed in relief.

"He's still alive but we need to get him to Oin and fast."

The three of them lifted Kili into the air, careful not to jostle him more than was necessary and began the long track back to town.

Fili prayed to every god he knew that he brother would still be alive when they made it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Somebody help!" Fili yelled when they reached the healing house. There was no answer. He was about to call again, louder this time when Oin burst out from inside.

Oin took one look at the ragged band of dwarfs and the limp bundle they carried and ushered them in.

"Bring him inside, quickly."

They hadn't needed to be told twice and quickly moved Kili out of the rain where a stretcher was already waiting. The deposited him on it but Fili was reluctant to release the iron grip he had on his hand. His brother needed him.

Thorin grabbed a hold of him and gently tugged him back.

"Fili, let them take him; let him go." Fili reluctantly did as he was told, watching as they carted Kili away. A sob broke free from his lips and he fell to his knees.

Thorin pulled him to his feet and drug him into an empty room, Vili following close behind.

"Fili, I need you to calm down. You will be no use to any one like this. Kili is strong; he is of the line of Durin, he will be alright."

Vili who had been standing quietly in the corner now broke his silence.

"What in Mahal's name are you two talking about?" Thorin and Fili turned towards the sound of his confused voice, seeming to remember that he was in the room with them.

Fili's mouth opened and closed as he fought for something to say. This was hardly the way he wanted to reveal to his father who he was.

"Thorin?" Vili said turning to his brother in law. "What's going on? What does my son have to do with any of this?"

Fili turned to Thorin for guidance as he had done so many times before and Thorin nodded slowly.

"I am Fili," he said cautiously. "I'm your son, only from seventy seven years in the future." Vili looked between the two.

"Is this some kind of a joke?"

"It's not a joke, Vili," Thorin said.

"And the other one, Kili?"

"He's my little brother. He won't have been born yet in this time."

Vili's legs seem to turn to jelly as he reached out to steady himself on the first thing he could reach, a supply cart in this instant.

"That's impossible."

"Not according to Balin it's not."

"You're telling me that its not impossible for my five year old son to be standing before me now as a grown man and the son that I have yet to meet could die before he's even born?"

Fili's face paled at his words but he remained silent.

"Not with this it's not." Balin stepping into the room looking half drowned and held up the stone. "The time travelers stone of Durin the deathless." He turned to Fili.

"I heard what happened, laddie. I'm so sorry."

"He's gonna be alright." Fili's words sounded more like a prayer than anything. Balin shook his head slowly.

"I don't think so, laddie. A life for a life remember. This is the world attempting to restore balance."

"What...no... that was supposed to take place for another three days."

"Your very presence here changed things and when Kili saved Vili's life he set in motion a chain of events that knocked the world out of balance."

"Screw balance," Fili shouted. "It's not fair!"

"Is there nothing we could do?" Thorin cut in.

"I'm afraid there is very little."

"Hold on," Vili said waving his arms. "Someone is going to have to explain to me what the hell is going on because I am lost here."

The three of them looked at one another, unsure how to proceed. In the end it was Balin who stepped forward, saving Fili the burden of having to tell his father of his fate.

"I'm afraid, laddie, that you were not meant to survive that attack. Kili unknowingly shook the balance of the world when he saved your life and I'm afraid it will cost him his own in return."

Fili started to sob again, fisting his hands in his hair. Guilt and grief replaced the anger and worry that had been so prominent before.

"My son is going to die because of me?" Pain and disbelief laced Vili's words.

"Aye," Balin said sadly. "I wish it wasn't true but it is."

"It's my fault," Fili moaned. "Kili tried to warn me that messing with fate was a bad idea but I didn't listen. I just wanted my father back, I wasn't thinking and now Kili is going to die and it's all my fault."

Vili knelt down beside his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew how to chase the monsters from under the bed and sooth a nightmare but when his son needed him the most Vili was at a loss at what to do.

"I just wanted you back," Fili whispered. "But I can't trade Kili's life. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Vili lifted his hand fro Fili's shoulder and used it to stroke his golden hair.

"Oh, my precious boy, I don't want you to."

The door to the room opened, breaking up the moment between Fili and his father. Oin took a few slow steps inside, stopping only a few feet from the door. Fili scarcely dared to breath as he waited anxiously for news of his brother.

"He is stable for now but the blade did some serious damage. I have done all I can for him; the rest will be up to the lad."

"Can I see him?" Fili asked. Oin nodded.

"Aye, but only for a few minutes, he needs to rest."

Despite what Fili had revealed to him earlier Vili still felt as if he were intruding on a private moment and decided to slip away unnoticed. He needed to get home. Dis would probably be sitting up by the fire worrying over him and he needed to see Fili. He needed to hold his boy while he still had the chance.

* * *

Vili stroked Fili's soft blond locks as the boy slept peacefully in his bed. He had done the same when he had tried to comfort the older Fili earlier on but he had been far from peaceful.

Fili's eyes, a soft blue that he had inherited from the royal side of his family, were haunted and filled with so much pain that Vili couldn't even begin to chase it away.

He was so young and he had already been through so much and from what it sounded like Vili hadn't been there to guide him through it. Three days he had said, in three days he was supposed to have died in an orc attack before they had changed things.

He thought about the babe Dis carried in her belly. He would have never of had the chance to meet his second son and left Dis to care for two small dwarflings on her own.

But by some miracle, he had been spared. He had the chance now to watch his children grow up and teach them about life. He could grow old with the woman he loved more than life itself, his One. He could die in his bed at three hundred years old after having lived his life to the fullest. He had been given that chance.

He only had to sacrifice his youngest son to get it. Fili was right; it wasn't fair. Fate was a cruel mistress but they all had to play their parts and bend to her will.

Balin had said there wasn't anything they could do but that wasn't quite true. The world required balance; a life for a life. Vili knew the path he must take. In order to save his family, he must first rip it apart.

He bent down to place a kiss on Fili's forehead, letting his tears fall onto the pillow. It was not a decision he made lightly, when he knew of the grief they would endure but over time their pain at his passing would dull. Vili feared if Kili died, Fili would soon follow and he would not loose his sons.

Blowing out the candle, Vili made his way to the room he shared with Dis. He would be selfish and allow himself one more night with the woman he loved and tomorrow he would right a terrible wrong.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: A small warning to be aware of. This chapter gets pretty dark so viewer discretion is advised.**

* * *

Chapter 8

Fili stayed by Kili's bedside though-out the night, holding his hand as he moaned and thrashed against the sheets. He didn't dare close his eyes for fear that he would not notice if Kili's struggling breaths suddenly ceased. No matter what happened, Fili would be there for his brother; he would not be alone.

A cool cloth that was placed on Kili's forehead sometime in the night to try and bring down the fever raging beneath his skin had slipped off due to his constant moving; Fili re-wet it and placed it back where it belonged.

The situation was eerily reminiscent of their time in Laketown when Kili was suffering from morgal poison but this time there was no elf maid to save the day.

Kili thrashed again and cried out in his sleep. Fili smoothed the sweat soaked hair away from his too pale face.

"Shhh, it will be alright," Fili wasn't sure if he spoke those words for Kili's benefit or his own. "I'm here, Kili. I'm here."

Fili screwed his eyes shut as he fought back the sob that was threatening to escape him. This was a dream; a terrible, horrible dream but it had to be a dream. He couldn't be loosing his little brother, it wasn't true.

He was supposed to protect him, to watch out for him but instead he lead him to this. Fili would never forgive himself for what he had done.

A small knock was all the warning Fili had before the door to Kili's room swung open and Thorin stepped gingerly into the room. He stayed back by the door, eyeing the figure on the bed with a hesitancy that Fili had never seen in his uncle before.

"How is he?" Thorin asked.

"He's fighting," Fili replied. "He's strong; so much stronger than I am. He's pulled through worse odds, he'll pull through this."

Fili could tell Thorin wanted to ask what he meant but he kept silent. It was probably for the better. After what happened to Kili, Fili didn't want to think about what the consequences might come from revealing too much of the future.

They sat in silence for a while until a low groan sounded from the bed and Kili blinked open his eyes.

"Fee...?" he moaned. "Hurts." Fili felt his heart shatter with that simple word. His brother was suffering and there was nothing he could do to ease his pain.

"I know but you're going to be okay, you hear me." Kili nodded, breathing hard through his nose.

"Is Da okay?" Even while in unbearable agony, Kili was still thinking of others before himself.

"Yeah, he's okay."

"That's good," Kili muttered almost to himself. "I'm sorry Fee. You were right, he needed our help. I...I couldn't let him die."

"No, Kee, I was wrong. There were consequences to changing history just as you said. Forgive me, I was too blinded to see."

"It's alright Fee," Kili said quietly. "You couldn't have known."

Kili's eyes slipped closed again and his breathing evened out as he drifted off to sleep. In the same instance, another knock sounded on the door. Fili thought it might be Oin coming to check up on Kili; he was not at all expecting to find his very pregnant mother standing in the doorway.

"Mo..." he started to say 'mother' but quickly caught himself. "My lady. Won't you come in." Dis nodded and flashed him a familiar smile.

"I'm sorry to intrude but they said my brother was here."

"And I am," Thorin said from his spot in the corner.

"I was thinking I might find Vili here as well, he left early this morning saying something about an injured dwarfling and having something he needed to fix." Dis glanced at Kili's sleeping figure on the bed with a sad smile.

"He didn't say where he was going?" Thorin asked. Dis shook her head.

"To be honest, Thorin, I'm worried about him. He didn't seem like himself this morning and I don't think he slept a wink last night."

The rest of the conversation faded into the background as Dis's words registered in Fili's mind. His heart tumbled into his stomach when the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and he had to reach out a hand to steady himself, knocking over a tray of instruments in the process. Both Thorin and Dis turned to look at him.

"Are you alright," Dis asked. "You've gone pale." Fili quickly nodded his head.

"Yes, fine. I just...I need some air. Would you mind watching over my brother for a little while?"

"Of course," Dis stammered. "Not a problem."

"Thanks." He turned and ran from the room as if a pack of wargs were nipping at his heals, vaguely registering that Thorin had ran after him.

"Fili, wait," Thorin called out once they were out of the healing house. "Where are you going."

"To Balin's," he called back, not missing a beat. "There's something I need to know."

* * *

They made it to Balin's small home on the other side of the town a few minutes later, panting hard from exertion. Fili slammed his fist against the hard, wooden door loud enough to wake the dead until Balin opened it.

"I know it's early but I must speak with you."

"You look like you've seen a ghost, laddie. Come inside and I'll make you some tea."

"I don't have time for tea," Fili argued but Balin set the kettle to boil anyways.

"Tell me what's troubling you, lad." Balin said, offering both Fili and Thorin a seat.

"Yesterday you told us that universe will take a life in order to restore balance when someone fated to die is saved, correct?"

"Aye." "What if that person dies anyways?" Thorin seemed to follow Fili's line of reasoning in addition to Dis's words.

"Mahal, you don't think he's going to..."

"To save Kili, I think he might," Fili said.

Balin, who had also understood what was being implied, nodded.

"It would set things to how they were meant to be. Vili would die as he was meant and Kili would live."

"There's got to be some other way," Fili pleaded.

"I'm afraid not, laddie. One of them must die."

Fili launched himself to his feet so fast it knocked his chair backwards.

"Fili," Thorin started but Fili never heard what he intended to say. His feet struggled to find purchase on the ground as he half stumbled, half ran from the house.

* * *

The storm that had ravaged the area the night before had returned for a second round, turning the sky an ominous gray.

He didn't know if it was desperation or wishful thinking that lead him to the swimming hole that his father used to take him to as a small child. He and Kili had spent entire summers splashing around in that lake.

It was well off the beaten path so most folks didn't even know of it's existence. Others choose to stay away due to the waterfall that ran down from a mountain stream that could often become unpredictable when the weather turned sour.

Kili had once jumped off the very top of that waterfall once, just to prove he could and nearly took ten years off his brother's life doing so. It was only by the grace of Mahal himself that he managed to avoid impaling himself on the sharp rocks at the bottom.

Vili was there when he arrived, standing near the mouth of the waterfall, nearly in the same spot where Kili had made his swan dive.

The river's raging waters brought on by the storm cascaded over the edge with a deafening roar, falling in torrents of swirling foam into the pool below.

Fili approached his father slowly, hoping to avoid startling him while he stood so close to the edge. The sound of dried pine needles crunching under foot told of his arrival. "I thought you would be with your brother," Vili said loud enough to hear over the falls.

"Do you remember when I would bring you out here?"

"Of course," Fili said. "We would splash around in the water for hours; you taught me to swim here and when he was old enough, this is where I taught Kili."

Vili turned and looked him for the first time since he arrived. Fili could see his face was wet with tears as much as it was with river water.

"That's what I will miss the most; not seeing you boys grow up."

"We can find another way. Father, please."

"You and I both know there is no other way, Fili. This is my choice." His words were sad but final. "I'm glad I had this chance to see you here, to see the strong dwarves you and Kili have become." Tears were streaming uncontrollable down Fili's face. "I'm so proud of you, Fili; of both of you."

"Vili, stop!" Thorin's baritone voice echoed through the pines as he finally caught up with them.

"Take care of them for me Thorin."

Vili took a step backwards, his brown eyes meeting with Fili's blue as he fell.

"No!" Fili rushed forward with his arms outstretched, ready to dive after his father.

"Fili, don't." Thorin's strong arms held him back and it was in those arms that Fili allowed himself to cry.

* * *

Dis placed her hand on her swollen belly as the babe she carried issued a rather powerful kick. He would be a strong one, Dis could already tell.

She caressed her abdomen lovingly. This new generation will help to bring light to the darkness that had so long shrouded over her people. Fili and this new little one she carried would bring joy and hope for new beginnings.

She sat beside the bed of the injured dwarfling and gently stroked the back of his hand. Maybe it was her maternal instincts coming into play but she wanted to make sure he was comfortable and knew he wasn't alone.

The young dwarf's brother had left nearly two hours ago with her own brother and so far has yet to return. She wondered what it was that was keeping him and why he would stay away from his brother for so long.

A soft moan drew her attention out of her thoughts and onto the bed. The lad's eyes fluttered open and Dis could still see the fever burning bright in his dark orbs as his eyes rolled around in his head.

Dis got to her feet as fast as her condition would allow her and bent over him.

"It's alright, little one, your brother will be here soon." he turned towards her voice, his vision seeming to come back into focus slightly.

"Ma?" Or perhaps not. "It's you. I've missed you."

Dis sighed and took his hand in her own. The lad was delirious with fever. Staring up at her with wide, innocent eyes, he looked so very young. He was probably too young to have even left home yet, which made one wonder how he ended up here. One thing was for certain though, the lad needed his mother and she could not turn his away.

"I'm here, _mudùmel,_ just rest."

"I kept my promise; I came back to you." he said softly.

The short spell seemed to have zapped all his strength and he slipped back into sleep. Or Dis had thought until he inhaled sharply and began to convulse on the bed, his finger digging at his throat.

"Oin, _Oin!_ " she cried desperately. "No." She place both her hands on the sides of his face. "Don't leave me, you have to stay, please. You made a promise to your mother; to come back to her, remember? You have to keep your promise."

"Ma," he gasped. "Help." Tears began to stream down her and she was glad when Oin pushed her out of the way to attend to the boy.

His choking gasps seemed to go on for hours before they seemed to stop completely. Oin barked out orders to the nurses in the room but Dis couldn't make out what he was saying, her eyes remained fixed on the boy in the bed.

A few short hours ago, she hadn't even known he had existed but she felt an unexplainable connection to him. Bowing her head she prayed to Mahal that he would be spared.

After what felt like an eternity, her prayers were answered as he pulled in a long, gasping breath. Dis cried with relief.

Thank you. Oh Mahal, thank you.

* * *

 **Mudùmel- comfort of all comforts.**

 **I read somewhere that that word was supposed to be Dis' pet name for Kili and I thought it would fit.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: We have come to the final chapter. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story. It has meant so much to me that you all like it.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Kili's miraculous recovery had baffled the healers. The wound was still there of course but it wasn't as severe as it had been and his fever had almost completely diminished. By the next morning, Oin was convinced he was healed enough to be released albeit with a stern warning to rest.

Fili draped his brother's arm around his shoulder for added support as the stood with Thorin and Balin in a small clearing far from the settlement. The red ruby was gripped tightly in Fili's free hand.

"You know what you have to do, laddie?" Fili nodded in response to Balin's question. "Think of the exact moment when you left. It would do any good to have two of you running around."

Fili sent a look to Kili, silently asking if he was ready and Kili nodded shakily.

"Take care of yourselves," Thorin said. Fili smiled.

"You too."

"See you in about seventy years or so," Kili added in.

Fili held the sphere out in front of them and he thought of home.

* * *

"Over here," someone shouted. "I've found them."

Fili felt a great weight lifted off his chest, allowing him to breath freely. Light was shined in his eyes, blinding him momentarily before Dwalin's face appeared before him.

"Easy, laddie. We're going to get you out."

For the first time Fili noticed the boulders that surrounded them and remembered the rock slide that had buried him and Kili when they first found the time travel stone.

Kili lay beside him, half buried under the rocks. His eyes were closed but his breathing was thankfully steady. Fili reached out his hand, entwining his fingers with Kili's as he allowed unconsciousness to take him.

* * *

It was early morning before Fili woke up again, this time laying in a soft bed in the healing houses of Erebor.

"It's about time you woke up." Kili sat propped against a pile of pillows in his own bed right next to Fili's, starched, white bandages were tightly wound around his chest.

"I've already been watching you sleep for an hour and a half."

Fili's brain still felt cloudy and he shook his head to try to clear the cobwebs.

"What happened?" Kili shrugged.

"We made it back. From what Oin was saying we were laying in that rock slide for a few hours before they were able to dig us out."

Fili noticed that apart from a few bumps and bruises, he was relatively unharmed but then again he was healthy and fit when he went into the rock pile; Kili had not been.

"How are you feeling?" He asked him, his voice laced with concern.

"Always such a mother hen," Kili quipped. Fili glared at him, he was hardly in the mood to deal with Kili's jokes. Before he could voice his displeasure however, Oin walked back in followed by Thorin.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Oin said as he began to fuss over him. A few minutes later, he gave the young prince a clean bill of health.

"You should be able to leave here whenever you wish but you should probably take it easy for a few days. You however," he said, pointing at Kili, "are going to be staying here for a while longer so I can keep you under observation."

"How is that fair," Kili protested.

"Because Fili only has minor wounds, he didn't almost collapse his chest cavity."

Fili winced at Oin's blunt words, no doubt their time spent under the rubble had pushed back his recovery by weeks. Kili would not be happy with that news and would probably become down right insufferable to live with until then.

As suspected, Kili opened his mouth to protest but was shot down by Thorin.

"Kili, do as he says." Kili closed his mouth with an audible clop and proceeded to pout like a child.

Thorin moved a chair to the space between the beds and sat down between them. Fili knew of the lecture that was about to come, they had after all wandered down into a restricted section of the caverns.

"What in Mahal's name were you two doing down there? You knew that area hadn't been cleared and this was precisely the reason why. It wasn't stable." Thorin stopped his tirade and sighed. "Do you realize what I went through when they came and told me that you two had been involved in a rock slide? My heart nearly gave out then and there. Was it not enough that I had to endure almost loosing you three months ago; you had to go and try to get yourself killed?"

Fili lowered his head like a scolded dwarfling.

"We're sorry, uncle."

"It was my idea," Kili cut in. "And it was my fault."

"It was both our faults," Fili corrected. "I should have never of let Kili talk me into going down there."

"It doesn't matter who was at fault," Thorin said. "What's done is done but that doesn't mean you will be getting out of being punished. I expect to find both of you two accompanying Balin for record keeping, for a month. Maybe that will teach you not to scare me so."

Both Fili and Kili groaned at the prospect but Fili realized it could have been worse. The biggest dangers they would encounter from record keeping was death by boredom or choking on dust.

Both Thorin and Oin bid them farewell after a stern command for them both to get some rest.

"They don't remember," Kili said once they were gone from the room.

"Perhaps it's better that way, Kili." Fili burrowed down in his blankets and shut his eyes, wishing he could do the same.

* * *

Dusk was beginning to settle over Erebor. The setting sun seemed to set both the sky and the surrounding lake ablaze as it dipped lower in the sky.

Fili stood on a rocky outcrop that over looked the lake, pulling his coat closer to try and block out most of the biting, winter wind. The time travel stone setting heavily in his hand.

It was such a simple thing but it had almost cost him his whole world. They had meddled with things they didn't understand and paid the price for them; Fili was going to make sure no one else had to endure that.

Pulling back his arm, Fili hurtled the ruby into the air and watched as it disappeared into the deepest part of the lake where it would hopefully remain for a long time to come.

* * *

 **AN: I know there were many of you who would have liked to see Thorin and Balin remember Fili and Kili's adventure but as we covered earlier in the story, no good comes from knowing too much of the past; so in a way it would be the universe keeping balance.**


End file.
